LG ordered to pay £150k after phone defect caused Scotland house fire | Hacker News Reader

LG ordered to pay £150k after phone defect caused Scotland house fire

theregister.com

14 pointsrntn8 comments

I'd be curious to hear LG's defence. Presumably they must have taken the line that they weren't liable for their product self-combusting in the middle of the night.

I am not switching blame here. Just to remind some people what the first comment for the article says, why is to err on the right side:

"the couple left three devices on their sofa, all plugged in and charging for the following day...

Nothing which is being charged should be left on a heat insulating surface which is itself flammable. The draining board next to your kitchen sink is a much safer place."

How are you not switching blame here? The device was faulty a non faulty device would not have started the fire. You are now telling everyone to not charge their devices on a sofa. That's FUD based on nothing.

It's common sense. Would you rather have your house burn down and someone to blame or for it to not burn down at all?

Aside from 2 laptops which are pretty much permanently plugged in (but since their batteries are already charged, they'll just be drawing what they need rather than charging over night), I wouldn't dream of leaving anything to charge overnight. It's just not worth the risk.

My phone quick charges in under an hour from almost empty. There's no reason to charge it overnight, when I could instead charge it at my desk, or while I'm eating, or whatever.

Everyone I know charges all their devices over night. Nightstands everywhere have charging docks for all the batteries you cary about your person. The hotels I have stayed at have USB ports about 2 feet from your pillow. Bluetooth speakers are semi-permanently plugged in until they need to be portable. The iPhone has built in smart charging specifically for charging over night.

Unlike my RC Car's high capacity batteries, which come with warnings all over them about proper charging care, not leaving them unattended, no common consumer product I have purchased in the last decade+ has come with any kind of visible warning regarding charging habits.

Common Sense over the last decade or two has shifted towards charging at night so your devices function all day.

Leaving your laptops plugged in is probably bad for them in terms of longevity depending on the chemistry and battery management system. If the BMS can be set to 80% or 50% then that’s much better than constantly sitting at 100%.

Charging your phone fast is also bad for the battery in terms of heat production.

If a device with a combustible battery has been damaged, or if there is an electrical surge, the same thing could have happened. Whilst in this case it's not the victim's fault, leaving such devices charging unattended is dangerous, just as running white goods whilst not attended.

Don't charge defective devices gotcha...

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